Artificial intelligence (AI) is a rapidly growing field of technology with potentially significant implications for national security. As such, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and other nations are developing AI applications for a range of military functions. AI research is underway in the fields of intelligence collection and analysis, logistics, cyber operations, information operations,… Continue Reading Artificial Intelligence and National Security

Recent debates about U.S. nuclear weapons have questioned what role weapons with shorter ranges and lower yields can play in addressing emerging threats in Europe and Asia. These weapons, often referred to as nonstrategic nuclear weapons, have not been limited by past U.S.-Russian arms control agreements, although some analysts argue such limits would be of… Continue Reading Nonstrategic Nuclear Weapons

The 2018 National Defense Strategy (NDS) states that the Defense Department’s “enduring mission is to provide combat-credible military forces needed to deter war and protect the security of our nation.” This 2019 Missile Defense Review (MDR) is fully aligned with the NDS, writes acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan. The MDR was conducted pursuant to… Continue Reading Missile Defense Review 2019

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), established in 1958, is an agency within the Department of Defense (DOD) responsible for catalyzing the development of technologies that maintain and advance the capabilities and technical superiority of the U.S. military. DARPA-funded research has made important science and technology contributions that have led to the development of… Continue Reading Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency: Overview and Issues for Congress

On September 27, 2018, the United States Air Force (USAF) awarded The Boeing Company a contract, worth up to $9.2 billion, to procure 351 Advanced Pilot Training (APT T-X) aircraft and 46 Ground-Based Training Systems (GBTS) to replace the existing fleet of T-38C jet trainers. The Air Force had originally valued the contract at roughly… Continue Reading Advanced Pilot Training (T-X) Program

There are many risks to the U.S. Army’s command and control (C2) operations and to its intelligence and information warfare (IW) capabilities. The challenges include: significant uncertainty; sudden unexpected events; high noise and clutter levels in intelligence pictures; basic and complex deceptions exercised through a variety of channels; the actions of hidden malign actors; and… Continue Reading Maintaining Information Dominance in Complex Environments

This Leavenworth Paper chronicles the introduction of chemical agents in World War I, the U.S. Army’s tentative preparations for gas warfare prior to and after American entry into the war, and the AEF experience with gas on the Western Front. Chemical warfare affected tactics and almost changed the outcome of World War I. The overwhelming… Continue Reading Chemical Warfare in World War I: The American Experience, 1917-1918

Underestimated: Our Not So Peaceful Nuclear Future, Second Edition explores what nuclear future we may face over the next three decades and how we currently think about this future. Will nuclear weapons spread in the next 20 years to more nations than just North Korea and possibly Iran? How dire will the consequences be? What… Continue Reading Underestimated: Our Not So Peaceful Nuclear Future-Second Edition